Travel in New Zealand – Banks Peninsula & Akaroa
An Ice pal of mine, Zondra,
did a great write up on things to do and see while traveling in New Zealand. I’m going to go ahead and re-post some of them here, as there’s some really great information and tips on some wonderful activities in New Zealand.
Akaroa is nice quaint little French village. Cute little shops & stuff (Good Fish & Chips!). Near Christchurch, so is a nice easy quick get-away. Akaroa is also the starting place for the Banks Peninsula Track http://www.bankstrack.co.nz/ – I highly recommend this hike. It’s the Marriot of all hikes. It’s 5-star hiking. It’s worth every cent. I recommend doing it in 4 days, instead of 2. They will pick you up in Christchurch if you want, otherwise you meet them at the Visitor Information Center in Akaroa. This is a private hike on private farm land, but the farmers really keep it in great shape. You’ll walk through Sheep pastures, on top of majestic cliffs, overlooking the turquoise/blue ocean… Then you drop into a small lush valley, to see beautiful flora & fauna, and great waterfalls… You’ll then pop out at a beautiful beach and there will be a hut waiting for you. The huts vary from night to night, but they are all prized places. An old farm house, or cute little bungalows… the huts are more like get away retreat places. You don’t have to walk very far each day, and all you really need to carry is your sleeping bag, clothing items & a little bit of food. There are food stores at some of the huts (They’re help yourself stores, with honesty boxes to put the money in… at one place, there are 2 refrigerators: one is the store, and has an honesty box on top, the other one is for you to put your purchased items into). On some of the days, you can pay a fee to have your bags shuttled to the next hut. Check out the website to get all the details. This is a great thing to do when you get off the Ice. Please note: the slots can get booked up, so make sure to check availability and make bookings in advance.
Will @ October 15, 2008
Comments (2)
NZ is full of quiant little tracks like this. So many beautiful things to see and do here. Where do you start? I’m not sure but http://www.dosomething.co.nz has heaps of great, inexpensive things that the locals love to do.
5-star hiking!! Sure, this could be worth trying. Thanks for useful guide.